Photos and life stories from Mexico, Newfoundland, and other places life takes us.

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Gabba Gabba Hey Day

The Sunday of Memorial Day weekend proved to be the perfect moment to finally go and pay respects to Joey Ramone, misfit vocalist of one of the all time definitive rock bands. A beautiful warm sunny spring day in New Jersey. The Hillsdale Cemetery is just 15 minutes away from Cedar Grove, and the instructions on how to find the plot offered up by Google were clear and accurate. Joey certainly picked a fine place to lie down. Manhattan's skyline glistened across the water. And there was hardly anyone else around. A quiet hour or so letting old memories run around.

It's funny how time plays out. We'd scheduled a bit of shopping for after the visit to Joey's, including a run on Costco. Half way down an aisle Michele said "I'd like to buy you this". This turned out to be something I didn't know existed. The recently released DVD titled "End of the Century", featuring an hour long documentary of the Ramones. Everyone is there, from David J and the New York Dolls, though Richard Hell, Tom Verlaine, Deborah Harry, Joe Strummer, Johnny Rotten, Phil Spector, and miles upon miles of Ramones footage, interviews, music. Original takes from CBGB in the Bowery from 1974, all the way through to Dee Dee thanking himself on the occasion of the band, minus Joey (already at Hillside overlooking Manhattan), being inducted by Eddie Vedder into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This is a ROM to treasure. It arrived for me with trademark Joey Ramone timing.